The Muskegon City Commission on Oct. 14 adopted amendments to the city's policy for the use and sale of city-owned residential property (the lot-sale policy). The changes adjust purchase-price formulas, reimbursement rules and development incentives intended to promote attainable housing.

City code coordinator Sam Pulis explained staff recommendations: vacant lots will continue to be sold at 75% of true cash value for single-family builds, while lots used to create duplexes, small multi-family or units that include an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) would be priced at 50% of true cash value. The policy simplifies reimbursement for builders to a flat 80% reimbursement once a home is built, removing the former tiered design-standard categories that staff said encouraged higher-cost construction.

Staff also updated the development-incentive language so that addresses included in a scattered-site brownfield plan amendment would automatically receive reduced water and sewer connection fees. Where an address is not in a brownfield amendment, the city will still waive connections fees if a developer builds three or more housing units on the site. Pulis said the brownfield capture is currently projected to perform and that those connection costs would be reimbursable through the brownfield TIF capture.

The policy removes a rarely used landscaping grant tied to nonbuildable-lot sales; commissioners discussed keeping small homeowner beautification supports but did not reinstate the specific landscaping grant in the policy. The motion to adopt the policy amendments passed on a unanimous roll call vote.